“Unfinished Business” – Kyrie Irving

“After taking the time to think about this situation and talk to all of the most important people in my family. I have decided to return to return to the Celtics. My goal when I got here was to win a championship for the city of Boston and that has not changed. We have some unfinished business to take care of after last year”

-Kyrie Irving (probably, in the future)

The media loves speculating that Kyrie or any and every free agent is going to leave their team if they don’t sign an extension. It gives them something to write about and that is why people watch basketball right? So the narrative that the Boston media has pushed has gotten everyone against Kyrie Irving. The people are saying they don’t want him back which is absurd. People in Boston are blinded by phrases like ‘Celtic Pride’ and the success of other Boston teams has put the pressure on the Celtics to win to keep up with a city that is constantly winning championships. So sure this season was certainly a forgettable one. But I am old enough to remember Rick Pitino coaching the Celtics which puts this teams struggles in perspective. They were also very fortunate the Isaiah Thomas trade worked out the way it did. The other side of that would have them toiling between mediocrity and the lottery for years to come. Isaiah turned into Kyrie and the team’s success continued. A lot of their success can also be contributed to Brad Stevens. I know they had one bad season but now is not the time to quit on these guys. It was tough for Brad to manage the egos in the locker room. But having guys like Terry Rozier off the team will help.

One thing about Boston fans is they have short memories. Does the Aaron Boone home run still hurt? Not really. Because the Sox reversed the curse the next year with a historical ALCS comeback. Does losing to the Eagles in the Super Bowl hurt? No, that memory was forgotten about just one year later. If the Celtics win a championship next year with Brad and Kyrie leading the way, all will be forgotten. Which is why I don’t understand why all of Boston seemingly wants to bail on Kyrie. I have never seen this with any super star on the Celtics. I know he didn’t perform well when he said he would but the Celtics struggles can not all be blamed on him. Terry Rozier has talked to anyone that will listen about his struggles in Boston while Kyrie has stayed quiet. This shows Kyrie is much more mature and a better teammate. Kyrie has had issues with teammates with huge egos before as well. Even before LeBron showed up in Cleveland he had to deal with Dion Waiters thinking he was an all-star caliber guard and wanting all the shots. It’s not the ego that is the problem it is the skill not being equal to the ego. Now that I think of it Dion Waiters is just about where Rozier’s ceiling is. Dion Waiters or Reggie Jackson. Two players who shit-talked their way out of their first team so they could star elsewhere and have had forgettable careers. Dion Waiters at least hit that shot to beat the Warriors that one year but I’m probably the only person to remember that. Terry’s career will turn out the same way while Kyrie continues to be a leader on championship level teams.

So, wihout further ado, I would like to be the first to say “Welcome back” to Kyrie Irving. I trust the Celtics are in good hands with you on the team and I can’t wait to see you redeem yourself.